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Seventeen- Seventy- Six 



:>lnd Other Poems, 



By H, U. JOHNSON. 



^All things work together." — Bible-. 
'Just for ftmy — Christian at Work. 



^OGl 



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CLEVELAND: 
Bfooks, Sc J link el & Co, 

1877. 






copyright; 
u. u. johnson, 

1877. 



INSCRIPTION. 



Dear Wife: 

Now for years, with a something of pride, 
You have looked, at times, on my poetic side; 
Or else, with your feelings a little askance. 
You have not failed to wisn my ' 'Rhyming in France^ '* 

Well, your better sense I have ever enjoyed, 
And the other has but a httle annoyed; 
So now, and with all of a true husband's pride, 
These lines, in affection, to you I inscribe. 

THE AUTHOR. 



printers: 

j. a. howells & co. 

Jefferson, ohio. 



'TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.' 



Dear Reader: 

Reader fond of sense, 
\^our time I've tried to recompense; 
And if you have a vein of fun, 
Perhaps the same I still have done. 
Are any of a serious mind? 
That I'm a brother, you will find. 
To any who as critics carve, 
There's food for you — why should you starve ? 
But pray, consider at your ease, 
And don't be savage on me, please. 

H. U, J. 
Orwell, O., June ist, 1877. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Evacuation of Boston, _ - ~ - 9 

Down at Charleston, - - - - 21 

July Fourth in Philadelphia, - - - 35 

Around New York, - - - - 51 

Across the Delaware, - - ~ - 63 

Centennial Poem, ----- 71 

Re-Union Poem, ------ 79 

Remove the Pen, ----- 83 

May Day Thoughts, - - - - - 85 

In Memoriam, - - ~ - - 89 
Strew Flowers, - - - - -91 

A Reminiscence, ----- 94 

The Only Curse, ----- 95 

Friendship, ------ 98 

Lines To My Wife, - - ~ - - 99 



CONTENTS. 

God Is Love, - - - - - . loi 

The Buckeye State For Me, - - - 104 

The Bark of Destiny, - - - - 107 

The ''Benighted" - - - - - iii 

EarlTCing, - - - - - - 113 

The Stilly Comforter, - - - -115 

The Invalid's Musings, - - - - 117 

The Land of Destiny, - - - - 120 

The Mythic Sea, _____ 123 

China Wedding Song, - - - - 127 

John Brown's Raid, - - - - 129 

The Spring! The Spring! - - - - 134 

Destruction of the Joyful, - - - 135 

Memorial Poem, - - - - - 137 

Her John Has Taken A Murphy, - - 141 

The Gay Young Tramp, - - - - 143 

Blue Glass, __-_-_ 145 

Another Reminiscence, - - - - 148 

A Centennial Reminiscence, - - - 149 
Notes, - - - - -.- -151 



Nothing for policy; 
Everything for principle. 



am. 



EVACUATION OF BOSTON. 



A Century has passed away 

Since fair Columbia's natal day; 

Now we review that woundrous year 

Whose Spirit, burning bright and clear, 

Should all our bosoms fill; 

Whilst feeble must the picture be, 

In the recitals m.ay we see 

The germs that give a nation life; 

That sweeten peace, and baffle strife. 

Inviting to good will 
9 A 



SE r£A' TEEiV-SE VEy T Y-SIX, 

That New Year's morn fell dark and chill 
O'er each New England vale and hill; 
And in the Southern sunny clime 
Did anxious hearts observe the time 

They else had marked with joy; 
For to their doors a foreign foe 
Had brought the sounds of strife and woe; 
All through the year that last night died; 
The tyrant's purpose they descried, 

In acts that did annoy. 

Their village homes had sadness seen, 
Their blood had dyed the swarded green; 
Their sires and sons had joined the fray, 
When Bunker Hill's eventful day 

Decreed brave Warren's fall. 
The patriot men, who acted guide, 
Had named as chief the country's pride; 
And from the mountain, from the glen. 
There throng around him "minute men," 

Obedient to his call. 



AND OTHER POEMS. 

No wonder if they count the cost; 
Now win they must, or all is lost; 
Each father grasps his fire-lock tried; 
Each free-born son is by his side; 

Each mother nerves her arm. 
Would all did thus, the work were short, 
But some there are of other sort; 
Ten thousand homes are with the king; 
Their inmates loud his peans sing, 

And swear, **To him no harm." 

No wonder, then, that New Year's day 
Has in it little of the gay; 
No wonder if men look askance, 
And cast around the furtive glance, 

To mark if friend or foe; 
No wonder that the chieftain, brave. 
Feels that his post is stern and grave; 
Nor that in council statesmen stand, 
And each proclaims, ''Our life, our land, 

We stake upon the throw." 



I a S3 1 '£A* 7££X"S£ F£y T ) 'SIX, 

The winter passed, the spring time came, 
And ardent souls were all aflame; 
For Boston fliir in thralldom lay; 
Fierce men-of-Avar wore on her ba}-. 

Well armed with bristling guns; 
Her streets resounded to the call 
Of sentries from each park and wall; 
A servile host there warded o.er 
Each mansion hall, and cottage door 

Of all her worthy sons. 

Her churches were of pulpits spoiled; 
Her citizens were oft embroiled; 
Her merchants were deprived of gain; 
Her matrons treated with disdain. 

Which honor should have scorned; 
The child that gamboled on the street. 
With base indignity did meet. 
Men were convicted oftentimes 
Of even uncommitted crimes, 

Bv witnesses suborned. 



AMD OTHER Poems. x% 

Dire hunger to her homes had come; 
The oppressor to its plea was dumb; 
As rebels they must this endure, 
Nor feci in life or limb secure, 

Nor breathe but under ban. 
'Twas thus when to Dorchester Hight 
The chieftain sent, in silent night. 
Those heroes of that olden time. 
Whose actions made their lives sublime, 

And spoke the inward man.. 

There wend along those trenching lines, 
Whilst on them fair the full moon shines; 
Facines and gabions, bundled hay, 
Those sturdy yeoman fast convey, 

Protection to secure; 
Whilst from the forts and points arouiid 
The deep mouthed cannon loud resound. 
And high in air the screaming shell 
Above the moan of ocean SAvell, 

And P)ritish eyes allure, 



1 4 SA 1 '/T A^ 7'/CJCX-SE t'/^N T V-SJX. 

With pick a\h\ sp.uU", in l.ihoi slill, 
rhoy lortiluMl that iwastrr hill, 
riuit w htM\ {\\r juomini;" dawn a\\okt\ 
rhi'> tuilh iinon the iMiton hii^ko: 

" Wo ileal with n\cM\ ot' skill." 
rho* twuch dt\spiscHi, and oi\on plied 
With oi>ilhots that did doride. 
l''or CuhI antl hotwr ai\d native land 
Thi^se ytHMWan n(n\ bad taken stand, 

With tun\. unyieldinj; will. 

Nv> nuittor it' ihcy were unskillevi 
In t;unics» like those minions drilled; 
Thex* knew ot' war; had death defied. 
In cotuesi with the eai^le-eyeii, 

In toix^st and in t\eld. 
Theirs wasi the blvxxi of l\n^H.^h $ires» 
The *;\n\e that thriUevi the noble squires. 
Who thwarttxi John at Runny Mede» 
When Mi\^na Charta was decrxxxl, 

Krtj Iwndeti knight* would yield. 



AND OTHER POEAfS. is 

Lord Ilowc surveyed his chalices cold, 
Cursed every continental bold; 
Cursed loud that "lUickskin" of the past, 
Who now around his lordship cast 

That j)hal;uix of ihc free. 
With file and drum and martial call 
He summoned forth his legions all: 
His regiments in grand array, 
His officers in trappings gay, 

Against tlu)se wards of liberty. 

•'Jk'hold," said he, "yon dastard crew, 
Who flaunt their 'Pine Tree*, in our view, 
As they would our rclieat inveijih, 
With an undisciplined array 

Of rebels gathered round. 
I bid you charge upon that hill,— 
Along their lines, and scatter — kill; 
WhoevtM' does ()[)pose our hand, 
Among insurgents of this land, 

Sh:dl surely bite lh(} ground." 



l6 SE VEMfEEN-SE VEX T Y-SJXi 

Said one, "And please, your lordship, navv* 
There are who well remember how, 
A nine moilths sinee we sallied out 
To 'put a ragged host to rout, 

That lay before us then. 
Our lines were long^ fine the display; 
It was to be a gala day; 
Charges were made — one, two and three, 
And though that host was forced to flee^ 

It Cost a thousand men." 

There gather round his lordship there, 
The tories, who his favor share. 
And ask that he shall parley hold; 
For well they know their leader bold, 

With whom • he has to deal. 
Though seeking much a great renown^ 
And highest favor with the crown, 
Lord William yet his plan forbore, 
And, looking all the chances o'er^ 

Did Washington appeal: 



AXD OTHER POEMS, tf 

^'Slr, we behold your vantage ground> 
Vet should resist as soldiers bound. 
But that from many a loyal heart, 
The plea comes up that we depart, 

And bear them from this land; 
The town is yours, at your desire- 
Is left unharmed by sack or fire. 
If we in quiet may withdraw; 
If not, by war's unflinching law, 

We shall apply the brand." 

Then he who spoke for Freedom's Causes 
* 'Depart, nor wait in needless pause; 
Let all who will to England cling, 
Go with thee, and her glories sing: 

We strike for freedom now-. 
We wish no blood, — no needless strife; 
We wish no waste of human life. 
Leave Boston homes unstained by crime; 
-Depart within the shortest tim.e 

Thy orders will allow%" 



S£ r£Xr££X-S£ r£X7 Y-SIX. 

Through aii tne day, through all the night. 
Did lo\-alists prepare for flight; 
The homes through all their childhood dear. 
Would they give up through [cringing fear 

In poverty to roam. 
The ratlier than in firmness stand, 
And battle for their native land. 
So wTonged. oppressed and trampled down 
By ser\nle minions of the crown, 

WTio sought not here a home^ 

Through soldier quarters was it told, 
**\Ve haste to leave this rebel holdf 
Through ever}' street and alley way 
Did they upon the people prey, 

And rifle heme and hall. 
Despite his lordship's plighted word 
On e\"er\" hand abuse was heard. 
Till from the fleet that anchored lay 
Upon the city's spreading bay. 

Tliere came the final call* 



AI^D OTHER POEMS. 19 

Then moved the hated soldier form^^— 
Then mo\'ed the cursing tory swarm, 
With execrations at them hurled, 
From Hps in indignation curled, 
At all the wrongs endured. 
'Mid groans and cheers and feelings deep, 
Those war-men from the harbor sweep; 
The people shout, their brows relax; 
Their foes are gone to Halifax, 
And quiet is secured. 

No IV turning to the hills around, 
Their shouts of triumph loud resound; 
For from those hills their kinsmen come, 
With fife and shout and roll of drum; 

Their chieftain leads the van. 
Yes, prayers and cheers and weeping joy, 
From hoary age, from bounding boy; 
From matron grave, from maiden sweet, 
Tlie coniing hosts of freedom greet, 
And spread from man to man. 



20 SE t 'EA' TEEA^-SE VEK 7 V-SIX. 

All Boston's doors are opened wide; 
No people now their treasures hide; 
Though stinted is the larder stock, 
There guards it now no wanton lock; 

The best is freely spread. 
In churches, spoiled of all that's fair. 
They bow them to the God of prayer, 
And pour their thanks before His throne, 
For all his mercies to them shown, 

And light upon them shed. 

Thus in that day of early spring, 
Did happiness her accents ring 
In city that for years had been 
The subject of a martial din 
That all her rights defied; 
Another point for truth was made, 
Another triumph was portrayed; 
And men about their altars sang, 
Until the hills and forests rang, 
"God blesses Freedom's side." 



1776 



DOWN y\T CHARLESTON, 



Where Ashley stream and Cooper stray, 
Then join themselvss in graceful bay, 
Where the Atlantic's flowing tide 
Along the low shore smoothly glides 

Is Charleston's favored site. 
Here glitter islets in the sun, 
There winding channels seaward run; 
Here sands oft baffle pilot skill. 
But back-ground shows no crowning hill; 

To vary and delight. 



22 S£ F£.VT££Ar-S£ F£.V T Y-SIX, 

There in the days when nature smiled. 
O'er all our regions grand and wild, 
His lodges rude the Westoe made; 
Canoes upon the waters played 

In ever ceaseless round. 
The palm on high its branches flung. 
Long, trailing mosses to them clung; 
Here cypress spread its verdant sheenj 
There laurel twined its tender green 

Afar upon the ground. 

In legend tales was often toid 
What there was done by warriors bold; 
But time long since those tales effaced, 
And now above tiiose braves is placed 

A city of the free. 
No doubtful annals shroud her birth. 
She rose from hands of sterling worth; 
From men who sought the New World's shore 
When dark oppression brooded o'er 

Each land bevond the sea> 



AND OTHER POEMS. 23 

No royal favor gave them place, 
Their wills alone their fortunes trace; 
Tho' rude did first their homes appear, 
And often scant their table cheer, 

They yield no point attained. 
The savage oft, with war-paint smeared, 
Before their barricades appeared; 
And sordid patrons, chartered bands, 
More ruthless still, preyed on their lands, 

So they but slowly gained. 

In midnight fires their homes did fade, 
And pestilence upon them preyed, 
As from the forest, the morass, 
The breezes, tainted, o'er them pass, 

And storms devoured as well. 
Thus Charleston battled for a place. 
And honored names her records grace; 
The country opened to her trade. 
Was on the deep her flag displayed, 

Her numbers steady swell. 



S£ VEXTEEX-SE I 'EX T \ 'SIX. 

Thus schooled thro' all a hundred \-ears, 
Her sires and sons indulge no fears; 
And when oppression pressed her claim^ 
Their hearts and souls were all aflame, 

They moved in freedom's van. 
No paper stamped by crown they use, 
Rich cargoed teas they firm refuse; 
They with the North make common cause. 
Will help resist or make the laws. — 

Accept no other plan. 

Tivas thus they stood, as rose the storm 
Which gave their laws another form, 
Weaned their afTcctions from the king, 
And bade them far allegiance fling, 

And make the land their own. 
'Twas thus they stood when strife began. 
And Lexington revealed the plan 
The mother country'd held in store. 
For those she long had warded o'er, 

But now had fully shown. 



AXD OTHER POEMS. 2 

When come the notes of war beeun. 
Each mother calls to husband, son, 
And these the arts of peace forsake, 
And quickly preparation make. 

To meet what may befall. 
'Tis none too soon they thus combine, 
Tho' some there are who do repine; 
'Tis none too soon they Moultrie trace, 
And on her walls assume the place, 

Where duty. most may call. 

Her walls arise, her bastions grow, 

Embrasures frowning war-dogs show; 

Her parapets are filled with sand, 

Forth gathered from the sea-washed strand, 

To make her men secure. 
Her magazines, of limit small, 
Will answer to an earnest call; 
Her colors, floating free and fair. 
The purpose of those men declare, 

"Our altars shall endure." 
B 



26 S£ VEX TEE X-SE VEXT y-SE\\ 

And who were they, those honored men^ 
Who bore the burden of the then: 
A Moultrie stood, as leader stands, 
A Marion seconds his commands, 

A Jasper brave responds; 
A Rutled^e stirs the people's hearts, 
A Pickney all his soul imparts, 
A Lawrence nobly lends his voice, 
A "Martyr" Hayne bespeaks his choice, 

A Lee alone desponds. 

Their work went on, 'twas none too soon. 
For on a pleasant morn in June, 
Within the offing of the bay, 
Expectant foes before them lay, 

Far reaching on the sea. 
Their men-of-war Avere fine of form, 
Frigates and transports round them sv.arnij 
Their decks with men are all aglow, 
So crimson do their trappings show; 

Their music sounds of glee. 



AXD OTHER POEMS, 27 

With anxious hearts the patriots now 
Themselves unto their labor bow; 
Each day, each hour more perfect grow 
Defences they about them throw, 

With an unceasinc: hand: 
The God of battles aids them well, 
For rolling storms the ocean swell, 
And adverse winds the fleet defy 
In every effort to come nigh 

That small, unfaltering band, 

Tho' troops by thousands take their stand 
Upon Long Island's glittering sand, 
Sir Henry Clinton is defied 
By an unceasing depth of tide 

To make assualt avail. 
Thus trial followed trial still. 
Each party striving with a will, 
Until there came th' auspicious day 
When Parker did his force array 

With purpose to assail. 



38 SE rEXTEEX-SE VEX T \ '-SIX, 

With early morn the anchors rose 
And for each ship a place he chose: 
The Active, Bristol, and Solebay, 
With the Experiment he lay 

For easy cannonade; 
The Friendship and the Thunderbomb 
Were placed to seal each gunner's doom; 
The transports served the island men, 
The Actaeon, Sphinx, and Siren then 

He sent to enfilade. 

The fleet arranged the people sec. 
And from each wharf, and roof, and tree, 
With anxious hearts and eager eyes 
They watch the curling smoke arise, — 

The action is begun. 
The Bristol's broadsides open well, 
The Thunderbom,b now showers her shell, 
And all along that anchored line 
The belching fires of battle shine 

Beneath the noon-tide sun. 



A.VD OTHER POEMS, 2g 

Cool Stood the men on Moultrie's vvalb,- 
And cooler still their leader calls, 
"Our homes do now our valor claim; 
Each gun be fired with careful aim^ 

That every shot may tell.'' 
Then from the ramparts incomplete, 
Their telling shots those vessels greet, 
Masts, rigging, hulls are pierced with bally 
And gallant tars by hundreds fall; 

With blood the vvaters swell. 

Not so the fire upon the fort; 
Her palm walls with their missiles sportj 
The yielding wood receives the stroke. 
Their onward course by sand is broke. 

Her men in safety stand. 
And as the sun goes slowly down. 
The glories of the day they crown 
By deed heroic; deed so brave, 
That only he who strikes to save 

The valor could command. 



30 sE r'/:xr/:£X^sE I'f.xt y-six, 

Their flag=staff rends a straying ball, 
Their banner falls without the wall; 
Ten thousand people note the loss 
And anxious fears their bosom toss. 

Surrender is the sign; 
A moment only Jasper stands, 
To note that ensign in the sands, 
Then *mid the raining shot he spring? 
And with it to the bastion swino-s.' — 

On high the cresent shines. 

The people note that ground o{ blue, 

Such noble act has brought to view. 

And pi-ayers and tears together rise, 

Whilst moistened cheeks and swimming ey^s, 

Attest the feeling deep; 
And in the days that follow there 
A banner wrought by Charleston's fair, 
He oft above the battle rwung. 
Who pledged them with an honest tongue, 

It with his life to keep. 



A. WD CTini'R PdEMs. 31 

As passed the day Sir Henry tried 

In vain to battle with the tide; 

The enfilading ships around 

Lay stranded on the ''Middle Ground/' 

And failed their promised aid; 
Then as the day drew to a close 
Bright curling flames from one arose; 
The others; with the landed force, 
On seaward current took their course 

In motion undelayed. 

The thunders of the battle ceased. 
The twilight shades of eve increased, 
The war-line drew their anchors in 
And to retire did begin 

While ebbed the tide away. 
As by his gun bold Marion stands, 
And gaily pats her with his hands, 
He says to those about him there, 
*'\Vhen friends depart it is but fair 

We them a blessing pay> 



32 SE VEXTEEX-^SE VEXTY-SJX, 

His eyes the sight hnes quickly trace, 
He gives the waiting match a place; 
A flash — the "blessing" speeds away 
Upon its errand o'er the bay, 

To Parker's ship addressed. 
Two middies in the cabin stand, 
Each with a goblet in his hand, 
Which, whilst they curse this luckless day, 
In memory of the loved away. 

To lips are closely pressed. 

Three tars arrayed upon the deck. 
Regret their flag-ship thus a-wreck: 
The middies' heads the missile cleaves. 
The tars three mangled corses leaves. 

Then leaps into the sea. 
Night's curtain fell, and all was calm; 
Sleep to the weary brought her balm; 
Assailant and assailed forgot 
The terrors that the strife had brought; 

Did angered feelings flee. 



AMD OTHER POEMS. 33 

A new morn rose, the fray was o'er, 
The fleet had anchored far from shore; 
And now ahke each party sought 
The kindest care for those who fought, 

The gushing wounds were stayed. 
But for the ghastly comrades slain 
The last of earthly rites remain; 
Encoffined some, enshrouded more, 
Adown the grave, the ship side o'er, 

They made their last parade. 

With ships repaired as best they could, 
Soon out to sea th' armada stood; 
Then Charleston bells aloud were rung, 
Gay banners to the breeze were flung, 

And, ''God be praised," arose 
In city full, ''among the pines," 
From South to North along the lines; 
And men in faith still stronger greWj 
And covenant with him anew, 

In him their trust repose. 



^■s^o« 










177 



JULY FOURTH IN PHILADELPHIA. 



''Let there be light," God's first commands 
The ether trembled in his hand, 
Then through the void, without delay, 
The cheery sunbeams swept away, 

A world to vivify; — 
A world with creatures peopled soon, 
With reason as their highest boon; 
A race with baser passions filled; 
To virtue deaf; in love unskilled, 

Rights ready to deny. 



36 SE VEXTEEX-SE VENT Y-SIX, 

A thousand years, and thousands still, 
Had reason battled Avith the will; 
The strong discarded all those ties 
Which from our common kindred rise, 

And blood had been the cry 
Since Adam in his sadness kneeled 
By that first grave in crimson sealed; 
From man to man, from land to land, 
Had fierce oppression raised her hand, 

Her ruthless hand, on high. 

Thus was it in that olden time, 
Time old to us in this new clime. 
When to that city most of all 
Responsive to the pleading call 

Of every human right, 
There came those men of nerve and will, 
The measure of their wants to fill 
Who thro' long years of weary toil, 
Of blighted hopes and fierce turmoil, 

Had struggled in their might. 



AND OTHER 2^ OEMS, 37 

They came from North, from South they came; 
There breathed from all the same pure flame 
Of loyal will to powers that be, 
Tho' in the land beyond the sea, 

The mother land of all; 
A will expressed in earnest prayer 
That they might in her councils share; 
Might to her royal court ascend. 
To plead the right, the right defend, 

Where'er that right might fall. 

They came, aware that hope was vain; 
Prayers had been answered with disdain; 
They boldly came a loyal band, 
Loyal to this their chosen land, 

Whatever might betide. 
No titled men those patriots came; 
In home-spun garb, with household name, 
They gathered in that simple Hall 
Which we still ''Independence" call, 

Grave questions to decide. - 



38 5^ VEX TEEX- SE I 'EX T 1 '- SIX, 

No view was theirs like Moses saw 
When thunders heralded The Law; 
The generations long had known 
Commandments that to him were shown 

Beneath that pillard smoke. 
Their work was to that law to fly, 
Its grand old principles apply; 
Enforce that doctrine from above 
That men shall one another love, 

As Heaven itself hath spoke. 

No pageant theirs like Runny ]\Iede's 
No barons grim, nor dashing steeds; 
No titled lords, yet peers they came, 
To seek that all might be the same 

Bv universal will. 
Like those old knights of feudal days, 
Against the king their voice they raised; 
Unlike them, struck that broader plain, 
\Vhich does for man the lost regain. 

And life's srreat measure fills. 



AND OTHER POEMS. 

The voice of prayer from them arose; 
In God above, they trust reposed; 
No types they sought, no shadows power; 
Their want was of the present hour— 

The power to move aright. 
And he whose hand is over all, 
Was heedful of their earnest call; 
for to that band of faithful men, 
Who solved the problem of the then, 

Did God ''Let there be light." 

That Congress met in early May, 
And carefully prepared the way, 
For men, for money, for assent 
To what men felt was the ev^ent 

Which should their labors mark. 
That question grand was closely scanned; 
''No longer rebels!" the demand; 
^'Give us a place, make us a name;" 
Thus soon became a glowing flame, 

What erst had been a spark. • 



39 



40 S£ r^.VTAEX-SE VEATY-SIX, 

Thus was it through the waning June, 
As closer still those men communed; 
This was the feeling country through: 
No more appealing to renew, 

Allegiance to discard. 
This thought was on the plow-man's face, 
Its accent in the market-place; 
The pulpit caught the undertone, 
And bore it upward to the Throne, 

Which ever hath regard. 

Where'er men turned rung Henry's voice, 
^'For us there is no other choice; 
Our chains are forged; their clanking hear 
On Boston's plains, now loud and clear; 

They speak no idle tale. 
Three million men in freedom's cause, 
Have never need to think of pause; 
His hand, his heart, let each man stake. 
And to his dearest rights awake; 

Our banners to the gale!" 



AND OTHER POEMS. 41 

In Congress Lee: '*God bids us move; 
His tempests well his purpose prove; 
All Europe's eyes are hither turned, 
Demanding freedom be not spurned, 

Or farther caused to roam; 
Demanding we asylum ope 
For every yearning child of hope; 
That rich and poor alike may find 
That dearest boon of human kind. 

An unpolluted home." 

The sun had shortest shadow cast, 

Our first half year was fully past: 

Men's yearning tho'ts had taken form. 

Were clothed in language ardent — warm, 

As ready pen could write. 

The choicest gems six thousand years 

Of toil, had brought this world of tears. 

Approved of saint, approved of sage. 

Were gathered on one blazoned page, — 

To kings portentous sight. 
C 



4^ SE VEN TEE N~SE VENT Y-SIX, 

"These truths we hold," the writing ran, 
**A11 men are equal, man to man; 
Life, liKerty and happiness, 
Does each, unalienable, possess; 

God given are they all. 
That men may these in peace possess, 
Should governments all ills redress; 
Jkit if one in this purpose fail. 
Then should the people's right prevail: 

Such government should fall. 

^'True, prudence dictates that old laws 
Should not be changed without due cause; 
Hence men long suffer, long endure, 
Ere they of right will seek a cure 

For even crushing wrongs; 
But usurpation and her train, 
Evincing once tyrannic reign, 
It is the people's duty then 
To spurn her as becometh men 

To whom the right belongs. 



AND OTHER POEMS. 

'■'And such has been the sufferance hero, 
Through many a sad and weary year; 
Such the necessity that now 
Allegiance bids us disavow, 

And make the reahn our own. 
Great Britain has refused just laws, 
Has sent her armies without cause; 
Our oft repeated prayers has spurned; 
From us, her common kindred, turned 

As tho' we were unknown. 

"Appealing", then, to God on high. 
With England now we break the tiej 
Henceforth these colonies shall be 
A nation full, a nation free — 

Have all a nation rates; 
In God, with a reliance firm. 
And asking no unneeded term. 
Life, fortune, honor — all we stake, 
And war's fierce chances freely take. 

For these United States," 



43 



44 SE VEN TEE X-SE VENTY-SIX, 

Auspicious morning in July! 
What crowds of people greet the eye? 
The country pours its numbers down; 
All business drops the Quaker town; 

Now thronged are street and square; 
The Congress sits with doors abar; 
No time is there for thoughts ajar; 
This day will they the issue meet: 
A nation born, or a retreat, 

Their purpose will declare. 

Without, the anxious people wait. 
Within, the delegates debate; 
Upon the tower is bell-man placed, 
By waiting boy is window graced, 

Decision to proclaim. 
High, and still higher, mounts the sun; 
High, and still higher, feelings run; 
'They will"— ''Will they?" the people call; 
"We will"— ''Shall we?"— within the Hall, 

Is oft the sharp exclaim. 



AMD OTHER POEMS. 45 

Thus passed the time; debate delayed, 
Till in his ardor Adams said, 
'' 'Survive or perish, sink or swim,' 
Be every freeman's battle hymn; 

'Go forward,' be the cry* 
Retreat for us is now in vain 
Except it be by slavery's chain; 
Let judgment now the measure prove; 
Let judgment now each doubt remove, 

'Go forward; tho' we die. 

"It may cost treasure, blood may cost; 
What matter these with freedom lost? 
Remember, sirs, the pledge we gave 
To Washington, the noble— brave, 

When making him our chief 
Let fire and earthquake sweep this land, 
Ere we withdraw that plighted hand; 
Proscribed are some, and outlaws named; 
Our every heart should be inflamed, 

This struggle should be brief. 



4§ S£ VENTEEA'-SE VENT Y-SIX, 

**Be but this declaration passed, 
Fulfilment on the people cast, 
The strong will then as armies rise; 
The weaker will afford supplies. 

And navies will appear. 
This declaration will inspire 
The people with unwonted fire; 
Jts reading will each sword unsheath; 
\Vill deeper inspiration breathe. 

All flagging hopes will cheer. 

*'A11 human schemes uncertain are, 
But God has planned these rights afar, 
And tho' we die, it may be slaves, 
They yet shall triumph o'er our graves- 

The coming shall enjoy. 
No tide of revolution, know, 
Did ever yet far backward go; 
Our mission now must we fulfil, 
And execute the people's will — 

Must every doubt destroy. 



Ai^D OTHER POEMS. 47 

"Give we assent, as ages play 

This day shall be a gala day; 

Tho* wrapped in gloom, we make the choice^ 

Earth's coming millions shall rejoice; 

Be honor our reward. 
The hour has come, in God has come 1 
And shall his creatures still be dumb? 
Survive or perish, sink or swim. 
Be every freeman's battle hymn; 

My vote is in accord." 

The speaker ceased; a murmur rose^ 
Tho' not a murmur to oppose; 
Tho' fiery speech, a speech so calm 
Had in it all the needed balm: 

''Aye, Aye," the members cried^ 
And each one of that fifty-six. 
Did readily his nanle affix. 
The crisis passed,, exulting joy; 
Each man seemed happy as a boy, 

All sense of fear had died. 



4a SE VEXTEEX-SE VEXT Y-SIX, 

Said Hancock, as he calmly wrote 
The name we all so ready note, 
"I mean John Bull this name shall spy, 
And when he does he'll know 'tis I," 

Then passed along the pen. 
*'Tho' weak of hand, in heart I'm firm," 
Said Hopkins then in earnest term; 
Said Franklin, "Now together cling, 
Or each one by himself shall swing. 

No matter how or when/' 

'Twas thus within; and then there came 
To those without, the in-door flame; 
"Ring," cried the boy, his cap he swings; 
With royal will the old bell rings 

Her text aloud and clear — 
A text prophetic, text sublime, 
That long had bided for its time: 
"Let Liberty throughout the land, 
Be full proclaimed on every hand; 

Let all My people hear." 



AMD OTHEk Poems. 49 

A thousand kerchiefs wave the fair; 
Ten thousand hats are high in air; 
With wildest joy the people weep; 
None quiet can his feelings keep, 

Arise such visions bright. 
Anon, they see their children free^ 
Expanding lands again they see; 
Through future vistas catch a view,- 
Of what is old, yet shall be new — 

God has ''Let there be light.'' 

Light such that all the land grew bright^ 
As sped this action for the right; 
Light such that emblems down were torn^ 
That oft with pleasure had been borne 

In hon'ring king and crown. 
Not since that day before the Mount, 
When Moses did the law recount, 
Had God so moved all hearts as one 
To say, "On earth thy will be done;'* 

Had people so bowed down. 



^o SErEiVTEEX-SEVEXTY-SJX, 

Night fell; the city sought repose, 
But in men's thoughts bright visions rose; 
Bright visions w.hich the years have filled 
Tho' for them much of blood was spilled, 

And still those visions rise. 
That day, its work, no bard can sing, 
Around it fondest memories cling; 
Those men immortal people praise, 
And will, thro' all the coming days, 

Still more their labors prize. 



1776 



AROUND NEW YORIC 



Where the Manhattans' rugged Isle 
Saw last the Shatemuc's waters smiley 
Then lose themselves in the expanse 
Where wave and tide alike advance 

From off the distant main, 
There centers much of all that's dear 
To every patriotic ear; 
Those native names are now displaced^ 
That Island is with city graced, 

That leads our urban train. 



g2 S£ V^NTEEN-SE VENTY^SlX, 

The wild, weird coast, the bounding deer; 
The Half-Moon's cruise, the Holland cheer; 
Internal strifes, embattled town; 
An o'er taxed province of the crown. 

Colonial times portray: 
A villied coast, suburban towns; 
Unnumbered piers, a modern * 'Downs;" 
A miUion souls, a commerce grand, 
That finds a mart in every land. 

Reveals New York to-day. 

But not of these, nor first nor last, 
iShall in these lines a word be cast. 
But only of that earnest strife 
Which ushered in Columbia's life, 

And fell upon our year. 
That brought within the spreadinor bay 
Great Britain's proudest war array, 
Which, foiled at Boston, Charleston, too. 
The Howes have caused to rendezvous, 

To fill the land with fear. 



AND OTHER POEMS. 53 

The summer sun was running high, 
When first the gathering host drew nigh; 
They came in pride of Enghsh name; 
Thus men of Brunswick, Hessians, came 

For plunder-promised pay. 
As golden grew the harvest fields, 
Still larger forces are revealed. 
Till thirty thousand soldiers drilled, 
And transports with munitions filled, 

Within the offing lay. 

Opposed to these a motly band. 
Unclothed of limb, unarmed of hand. 
Except the homespun, well worn garb, 
The fire-lock, scythe, or ruder barb 

Which rustic homes afford. 
But three times six the thousands are, 
Who stand for all these homes a bar; 
Nor battle-ship, nor transport-barge 
Have they in all their lines in charge, 

Nor magazines well stored. 



54 SE VEN TEEN- SE VEN T V- SIX, 

From North, from South, they come the same; 
They strike for homes, and not for name; 
Of different tastes, they these subdue, 
And hold the common cause in view 

With patriotic zeal. 
Thus Sullivan and Putnam do; 
Thus witness Stark and Mercer, too; 
And thus with Greene the Clintons act, 
Whilst Washington with master tact. 

Directs the common weal. 

Now up the Hudson war-men sweep; 
Close vigils there the yeomen keep; 
Anon, a fleet sweeps out to sea, 
''What may their destination be?" 

Do anxious hearts inquire: 
And they who do the kings command 
To scatter discord well have planned; 
Now pardon offered, quick is spurned; 
The firmness of reply returned, 

All loyal hearts inspire. 



AND OTHER FORMS. 5,5 

The August days are waning- fast, 
When to Long Island's shores are passed 
The thousands whose spread tents below 
Have Staten Island clothed as snow, 

For the first pass at arms. 
De Heister's host at Flatbush stay 
Grant, with the left, at Gravesend Bay; 
Sir Henry Clinton, with the right, 
At Flatland waits him, for the night 

To silence all alarms. 

Opposed to these is Putnam placed, 
With slender lines from Brooklyn traced; 
On wooded hight, in silent glen. 
There wait them firm, those gallant men. 

To meet their royal foes; 
Nor wait they long, for tory hands. 
When darkness covers the commands, 
Thro' Bedford Hills Sir Henry guide, 
To highway on the northern side, 

Where briefly they repose. 



SE VEIfTEEN-SE VEX T Y-SIX, 

Ere yet the light of morning break, 
With sound of arms the hills awake; 
For, from their camp about the Bay, 
The serried Britons make their way 

Attention to arrest; 
Grant's legions drive the brave Atlee, 
Whose men fight fiercely as they flee. 
And then beside their compeers stand, 
From Delaware and Maryland, 

Upon the wooded crest, 

De Heister opens cannonade. 
Which holds the center lines arrayed, 
Till Clinton, yet all unperceived 
The object of his raarch achieved, 

The rear of left attains; 
Then thunders of his cannon tell 
That all must now the battle swell; 
Those thunders to the patriots now. 
The fortunes of the day avow. 
To yield or fight remains. 



AVD Or//£/^ POEMS. 

Grant, pushing on> Atlee o'er pov^efs, 
De Heister forth his Hessians showers; 
Cornwalhs, with his grenadiers, 
At once upon the field appears, 

And hotter grows the fray, 
linvironed now, each httle band 
Contests the ground, tho' hand to hand, 
Till by sheer numbers overpowered 
They yield, fetreat, or fall uncowered— 

For Britain is the day. 

Night closed upon tr.at Conflict dire. 

The Britons to safe lines retire-, 

By slow approaches deeming best 

The strong hold from their foes to wrest, 

Than by direct assail. 

Then Washington the day reviewed; 

Prepared for battle if renewed; 

Bemoaned a thousand captured, slain; 

Planned how position to retain. 

And what might most avaik 
D 



58 SEVENTEEX-SEVEKTY-SIX, 

Day followed night, a stormy day, 
Which Howe in feasting passed away; 
Not so with him whose anxious care 
Himself no hour of rest would spare, 

If danger hovered round: 
A host in front, a fleet below, 
And fleet above, that danger show; 
A council brave, of men discreet. 
Decide that in a quick retreat 

Is safety only found. 

"God moves in a mysterious way," 
So moved he on that anxious day: 
When night her silent mantle gave. 
Then misty darkness kissed the wave, 

And rested on the hills; 
And when the sun again arose. 
In darkness still those hills reposed; 
Men gathered then boat, shallop, barge. 
And put them under sailor charge 

Of stern New England wills. 



A^D OTHER POEMS. sq 

Through all the day, thro' all the night, 
They plied them with a sturdy might, 
Till all had safe from Brooklyn passed, 
That peerless chief departing last — 

No danger would he shun; 
Then when the gray mofn came again, 
The Briton asked, "How, where and when?" 
So quick, so well the plan was laid, 
So fairly did his watch evade, 

So silently was done. 

Retreat was safety for a day, 

Then thronged that fleet along the bay, 

And men unused to war's alarms, 

Saw in its movements naught of charms, 

And fast the ranks forsook. 
Then darkness gathered o'er the cause; 
Who loudest shouted, now made pause; 
New tory legions joined the foe; 
Men did by hundreds homeward go, 

No discipline Wo^ald brook. 



6o SE r£XT££X-SE l*£X7 Y-SIX, 

The chieftain's soul was sorely tried: 
He every energy applied 
To check the tide oi clamor base; 
To throw defences round the place, 

Position to maintain: 
But all in vain those efiorts proved. 
His foemen now with caution moved; 
Strong lines they formed on every hand- 
Upon the water, on the land, 

His movements to restrain. 

Tho' :$ick oi^ heart, in manner calm. 
Again he earns a victor's palm. 
He foils again that waiting host, 
And gains his men a safer post: 

New York is given o'er. 
Then, mid the chill autumnal days. 
Each army all its tact displays 
To gain the Highlands, Highlands hold, 
Which all the country round controlled; 

As well, the Hudson's shore. 



AND OTHER FORMS. 6i 

But why recount strategic moves, 
Which some disclaim, which some approve; 
The conflict sharp on White Plain's field. 
And that which caused Magaw to yield 

Fort Washington's defence; 
Distrusting words, the general gloom; 
The questions, *^How?" or ''When?" '*By 

whom?" 
Intriguers base, the faithful few 
Who closer to their chieftain drew. 

Amid the dark suspense. 

The time that tried men's souls v/a^ then; 
No longer echoed mountain, glen, 
With paeans loud for freedom sung 
Such as the noon-tide year had rung 

In glee throughout the land; 
But men supinely sought their homes, 
And there in execrating moans, 
Bewailed their fate, or cursed the day 
That led them from their king astray, 

Then sought his pardoning hand. 



62 S£ VEX TEE XSE VEXT Y-SIX, 

Thus, day by day, six thousand years 
Have garnered up their joys and tears; 
Anon, the one in splendor glows. 
Then, unrestrained, the other flows, 

Nor hope itself avails. 
But He who makes the stomi a calm, 
Presents for all this cheering balm: 
Though tyrants rule, oppress, and wrong, 
Men in the right are ever strong, 

And truth at last prevails. 



i77 



ACRDSS THE DELAWARE. 



Our year's last days are nearly told, 
So rapidly events have rolled; 
Reached even is that cherished day 
Around which holy memories play, 

And consolations spring; 
Before which, darkness clothed the lands, 
In gloom as deep, Columbia stands; 
The light which late shed splendors bright, 
Has faded into darkest night, 

Few freedom's paeans sing. 



64 S£ I ^EXT£L X^SE I "EXT I '-SA\\ 

Retreat alone has safety proved; 
West, farther west, the Hnes have moved, 
Till now those sore disheartened men 
Are found within the land of Penn, 

Unclothed, and all unfed. 
Detractions are of chieftain rife, 
Embittering unequal strife; 
But few now heed his earnest call; 
The Congress from its cherished HaU 

To safer parts has fled. 

New Jersey's fields are trampled o'er, 
A foe is at her ever\' door, 
And rapine, crime, and sore dismay 
Mark everywhere the Hessians' way, 

And to distraction tend. 
Believing, now, their work complete. 
The chiefest Briton's seek their fleet; 
Subalterns carelessly prepare, 
With ice, to cross the Delaware, 

And thus rebellion end. 



AND OTHER POEMS, 

As darkest hour the day precedes, 
So fiercest trials, noblest deeds; 
Thus while men cavil and decry 
poes Washington his mind apply, 

The sweeping tide to stay. 
What to most others rashness seems, 
He now a sure salvation deems, 
And plans to meet the waiting foe, 
Ere they can strike expectant blow; 

At least, he will assay. 

With faith unswerving, faith sublime. 
He fixes on the Christmas time, 
His faithful few to quickly guide 
Across the river's freezing tide. 

When darkness gathers round, 
Not doubting but the foe, elate, 
On Christmas revels long will wait, 
And thus unguarded, unapprized. 
May by his forces be surprised 

Upon their vantage ground. 



66 SE VENTEEN-SE VEN T Y-SIX, 

There gather round him with their cheer, 
A few true men who know no tear: 
A Putnam with his earnest soul, 
A Greene who asks no higher goal; 

A Wilkinson, we view; 
Lord Sterling, Sullivan and Reed, 
Cadwalader and Knox, accede; 
Whilst Mercer, Steven's and St.Clair, 
Monroe, Hand, Forest, Glover, dare. 

Gates proves alone untrue. 

Whilst others sadly Christmas keep, 
This hope forlorn prepares to reap 
A harvest golden, harvest pure. 
That shall the nation reassure. 

The enemy astound. 
With bleeding footsteps, glowing souls. 
They gather where the river rolls. 
And as the fierce night passes by. 
Across the freezing waters ply; 

Arise no murmuring sounds. 



AND OTHER POEMS. 67 

On Jersey's shore, 'mid pelting storm, 

In columns two they quickly form. 

And whilst the fierce winds round them play, 

Strike out for Trenton, miles away, 

Six times four hundred strong. 
To glory oft do leaders move, 
Their course with little to approve; 
But here a hero leads his van, 
Whilst home and country, rights of man. 

Alone his bosom throng. 

* 'Thank God!*' goes up from peasant home, 
"Thank God, for Washington has come!" 
Still fiercer drives the blinding sleet. 
Still bloodier become the feet. 

Some forms from freezing fall. 
The morning merges into day; 
May it be God's "mysterious way" 
Those foemen now no vigils keep. 
But pass the hours in quiet sleep 

Without reveille's call? 



68 .S:^ VENTEEX-SE VEX T Y-SIX, 

*'Der feind, heraus!" at length the cry, 
And to their arms the Hessians fly; 
But steel in front, and steel in rear, 
Together with defiant cheer, 

Their discipline defy: 
Whilst Forest's guns drop iron hail, 
Some from their windows do assail; 
Some try in vain their lines to form. 
Whilst patriots fierce around them swarm; 

Their horse for safety fly. 

"Du forwarts geh; marshiret ihr," 
Rings out from Rahl, untamed by fear. 
Bold warrior, that thy last command, 
Tho* grenadiers around thee stand, 

And madly scour the field. 
The leader falls by musketeer; 
And now assailed, front, flank, and rear, 
No longer strives that veteran band, 
And Rahl is forced, with dying hand, 

His well-tried sword to yield. 



AND OTHER POEMS, 69 

A thousand men, with arms and store, 
Are hurried to the western shore; 
But not until, with faUing tears, 
The dying Rahl the Chieftain cheers, 

Thus soothed for laurels lost. 
Thus ere the hours a day have run, 
The well planned work is nobly done; 
A force untried has laurels gained; 
A stunning blow has foe sustained. 

Which much of honor cost. 

Now Howe casts off his lustful bands; 
His titled peers seek their commands; 
Tatterdemalians" now they feel 
Are foemen worthy of their steel, 

\^et still as rebels scout. 
Detraction drops her hydra head, 
And cavil for the while is dead; 
Full confidence the chieftain claims; 
Most honored his of honored names^ 

Base foes are put to rout. 



70^ S£ VEXTEEX-SE VEX T i'-SiX, 

Thus in that day of closing year, 

When all was glodm, when naught was cheei'y 

Did one bfave he'aft assurance bring, 

And Cause the land again to sing, 

And men to found him throng; 
Thus God in his '^mysterious way" 
Again did bless his gala day; 
And men, in earnest, fervent prayer, 
A higher purpose did declare. 

Again in faith grew strong; 

Not faith that wdks ailone' by sight, 
But faith, with men and monied might; 
A faith that in the after ye'ars, 
*Mid toils, a'rHd grave's bedewed with tears?; 

The long, soiight boon stttaincd. 
Nowy tho' a century has sfJed, 
No luster of that year is dead; 
But its prophetic tones still ring. 
The fathers' song the children sing^ 

In spirit ^11 unfeigned. 



CENTENNIAL POEM. 



Scarce has appeared the first bright morning ray, 
And night's sweet visions have not stole away, 
When on the breeze from north to south afar. 
The booming sounds that not one heart can mar, 
Sweep through the casement to the Hstless ear, 
Bidding receive a nation's new-born year. 
Those sounds bespeak the soul pervading joy. 
Here bursting from all hearts without alloy. 
For it is now the day of days with all, 
And forty million souls obey the call. 



7^ SA' J '£X TEEX-SE VEX T V-SJa, 

"A hundred years," each echo seems to say^ 
"A hundred }'ears Columbia counts to-day." 
From the the broad Lakes to where the bright 

Gulf rolls, 
From the g^ray East to where the West unfolds 
Her grandeur, dressed in Nature's sweet attire. 
Comes a response that none can but admire: — 
"Columbia's blessing on each toiler's head; 
Her home's bright comforts ever round him spreadi 
Peace and contentment be his constant dower; 
Confiding hope and faith his daily tower." 

The busy thoughts thtlt yearn in every breast, 
Find in this welcome day a pleasing rest. 
The early morn beholds the vast array 
Df busy feet. The thoughtful aiid the gay 
Unite, and all move lightly, joyous on, 
A.nd ere the sun's ascending rays are gone, 
Mid gaudy trappings and the stern array 
Df war's fierce charms in innocent display. 
The tongue of eloquence hath breathed a flame 
Df deeper fire than ever thrilling came 



AND OTHER POEMS. 73 

From ancient lips, wherein is oft retold 

The deeds and darings of our sires of old; 

llie deeds and darings of their offspring brave, 

Baring their breasts our heritage to save; 

Our earnest efforts early to secure 

The blotting out of errors time alone can cure. 

These, and far more than these, do all conspire 

To send aloft the patriotic fire 

Above ten thousand consecrated shrines, 

Where love of country most resplendent shines; 

And Freedom's purest aspirations rise. 

And echo their clear thunders to the skies, 

Proclaiming loud that peace unbroken reigns; 

That severed are the bondsman's clanking chains; 

That Art and Science, with Religion, stand 

i\s guardians of this Heaven-favored land, 

To litt and mould; eliminate the base; 

Suppress the vile; give noblest manhood place. 

From North to South, from East to West away. 

Why should we fail to celebrate this day ? 

E 



74 SE VEN TEEN-SE VENT Y-SIX, 

Behold our fields where waves the golden grain; 
The tall spired city and the villaged plain; 
The forest-fleets that deck the ocean's tide; 
The palaces that o'er our rivers glide; 
Our lakes all garnished with the wealth untold, 
That daily to and from the West is rolled; 
And the far greater wealth that silent shines, 
In the recesses of our unwrought mines, 
And the expanding thought, that, scorning space. 
The lightning tames, obedient for the race; 
And then bethink a few short years ago, 
How o'er these fields sped the wild wolf and roe; 
That in the city laired the beast of prey, 
And o'er the ocean held the petrel sway; 
That bark canoes the river's waters broke; 
Lakes ruffled only to the oarsman's stroke; 
That not a lonely mustang grazed the plain, 
Where now the iron steed sweeps with his train; 
How the dark savage, whilst his whoops resound. 
Warred, waiting for the Spirit's hunting ground. 



AND OTHER POEMS. 75 

All these are changed as in a dream of night, 
And on this joyful day behold the sight: — 
The varied changes sweeping to the West, 
And wealth and ease reposing on her breast; 
See all men stand before the law as peers, 
As God works out the problems o( the years. 

Where noble Penn first met the forest child, 
There meet to-day in universal guild, 
From every clime, and race, and brogue of tongue. 
Of which the pen has spoke or poet sung. 
The portly Briton, and the lithe Alpine; 
The swarthy Spaniard, Germans from the Rhine; 
The- polished Frenchman, the Hibernian son; 
The thoughtful Scotchman, and the fiery Hun; 
The turbaned Turk, Celestials and the Jap; 
Sons of the torrid clime, the frozen Lapp; 
The Negro and the white Circassian, all, 
Responding to our Centenary call. 
Have come, and with them brought from every land 
The products of the soil; of mind and hand. 



76 SE VEN TEE N-SE VEN T Y-SIX, 

There we behold the Antique with the New; 
The way our fathers wrought with ours we view; 
There see the rare appHances of power 
Meeting; the wants of each recurring hour. 
And as the thousands daily wend their way, 
Amid this first Centennial display, 
The rich meet with the poor; the high, the low; 
And crowned heads beside our peasants go, 
As the Gregit Peoples vie in honoring one 
Who from the bosom of them all has sprung; 
And the aiuard on every hand is seen, 
" Columbia of all the Land is Queen." 

And now may we with every heart made glad. 

As we were in prophetic vestments clad, 

Turn from the things that are, and that have passed, 

And hopeful vision to the future cast. 

The sun bears daily as he sinks to rest. 

Some neiv gem to bedeck the gaudy West, 

Wherein developed beauties are displayad, 

The workman's hand, the worth of every trade; 



AI^D OTHER POEMS. 77 

For her broad valleys and her mountains teem 
With joyous life, whilst every lake and stream 
Reflects afar the cradles of success, 
Which in themselves the wholesome truth confess 
That all a nation's strength in wisdom lies, 
And bid on every green her temples rise, 
As supplementing the Redeemer's plan 
To disenthrall the nobler parts of man. 

The thronging cities on our western main 
The sun's last rays upon the Rocky chain 
Behold, floating the "Stars and Stripes" unfurled; 
Bright beacons they, proclaiming to the world 
That far beyond our west, wild, wave-washed shore 
Shall Freedom seek a home forever more. 
The Sandwich, Feejee, and the Javan Isles 
May check her onward progress for awhile; 
But o'er those coral lands her light shall spread, 
And highest culture on their children shed. 
And she shall sweep o'er China's tea-green plains; 
And where the Ganges rolls to Hindoo strains: 



78 S£ VENTEEX-SE VEN T Y-SIX, 

The Tartar and the Arab bow the knee; 

Then Afric's sable sons respond in glee; 

And Europe's monarchs last shall yield their s^^•ay, 

Feeling to rule is less than to obey. 

Then shall we hear from every nation, clime, 

As onward speed the sweeping wings of time, 

Loud Hallelujahs to this day of days, 

Which first received a feeble nation's praise. 

Let all this come in Heaven's peaceful way, 
Breathes every patriot prayer; yet must we say, 
"Be to thee, World, this consummation thine. 
Free institutions round thine altars twine, 
Tho' it shall take some hundreds yet of years, 
Treasures and blood, mingled with many tears.'' 



RE-UNION POEM. 



These twice six years have passed away, 
Since you and I were called, dear boys, 

And, cased in Uncle Samuel's staySy 
Entitled to a soldier's joys, — 

To hard-tack, beef, to pork and beans. 

To the reveille's shrillest call; 
To dress parade, and other means 

Of making veterans of us all. 

No matter now about the ''bid," 

Or those who played the ''game of off;' 

No matter now if others did 

Make of the "Guards" a httle scoff. 



So SE VEXTEEX-SE VEX? Y-SIX, 

Within our ranks there slept a bit 

Of the old Puritanic fire, 
Which so displayed itself in grit 

When John Bull stirred our father's ire. 

In the fair land of Johnson's Isle, 
Where old Lake Erie's waters play, 

The "rebs" we guarded for a while, 
Then to the field were called away. 

Now gathered here behold we those, 
\Mio boldly rose and led the van. 

And struggling, thus, against their foes, 
Were "gobbled up" at Cynthian. 

No, not all here with us are they 
Who gathered on that fated field; 

We drop the tear to think the fray, 

With many a comrade's blood was sealed 

That duty of one hundred days, 

Gained for each man the tribute due, 
From him whom all the people praise 
As just and "Honest," firm and true. 



AND OTHER POEMS,. 8 1 

And tho' our garlands are not such 

As grace the brows of those who served 

Through long campaigns, and suffered much, 
For prompt response they are deserved. 

And in this year of all the years, 

Since from old Independence Hall 
There swept aloft those deafening cheers 

That through the generations call, 

*Tis proper we together meet, 

And grasping each a fellow's hand, 

With all the joys of home replete. 
Thank God for an unsevered land. 

Thank him that it was e'er our lot 

To humbly serve that starry flag 
Which rebel hands respected not. 

And from its height would gladly drag, 

But which to-day floats full and strong, 

Above our forty million free, 
And all the lands that come and throng 

Our Centenary Jubilee. 



■^ SE VEyTEEX-SE J 'EX T Y-SJX, 

'hank Him that now ''Red, White and Blue, 
Are colors of the "Blue" and ''Gray," 

Vom where the gulf our coasts bedew, 
To where Niagara casts her spray; 

That over north and southern braves 
Alike, we strew memento flowers; 

That where the ''pine or palm" tree waves, 
Each patriot greets that flag as "ours." 

We meet again; some locks are gray; 
But few can boast their raven curls; 
"he youngest of us now may say 
My home, my wife — my boys and girls. 

.Ve meet again; not all howe'er, 
For death his busy hand hath plied; 

.^ur thousand dwindles year by year; 
Our comrades seek the other side. 

\'e part — be this our motto as we go: 
So live that when command is given. 

Break ranks," we leave the drill below 
To bivouac in the camp of heaven. 



REMOVE THE PEN. 



Yes, tear its dingy walls away, 

Move every brick and stone; 
Reeking with clank of chains are they, 

With bondsman's sigh and moan. 
Remove this pen of vilest kind; 

God's heritage renew; 
Let in the sunshine and the wind, 

The cleansine rain and dew. 



'fc. 



Here came through many dreary yearo 

The hapless child of fate, 
'Mid taunts and jests, and withering jeers, 

His destiny to wait: 



S4 S£ r£XT££X-SE rEXTV-SJX, 

A change of home, without a choice; 

A change of kindred ties; 
A change in which was raised no voice 

To soothe the bitter cries 
That rose from mothers as they saw 

Their first bom snatched away: 
That rose from fathers as the law 

Made of their offspring prey; 
That rose in terror from the young, 

In anguish from the old; 
That rose with an unceasing tongue. 

And on the heavens laid hold. 

"Remove the Pen," they cr)- aloud, 

Five hundred thousand slain 
Who fell beneath the lurid cloud 

That rose from slaver\''s reign; 
"Remove the Pen" is echoed far: 

The lands respond "Amen: 
Remove the Pen, nor let it mar 

Columbia's soil again. 



MAY DA\^ THOUGHTS. 



The clouds have fled the winter sky, 
And Northward mounts the sun on high; 
The icy chains have left the streams, 
Now glittering in the sunny beams. 

The forest robes of sear and gray 
Have faded 'neath the green array. 
That gorgeous Spring, in beauty dressed. 
Has thrown o'er wood and mountain crest. 

All Nature's beauties now adorn 
The decking of her ample horn, 
To crown the golden harvest field, 
Then, gathered thence, its bounties yield. 



86 SE YEN TEEN- SE YEN T Y- SIX, 

And when has passed sweet blooming May, 
I love to seek at close of day 
The field, the wood, the flowery hill, 
Where all around is calm and still, 



And gazing on the lovely scenes. 
Grand lessons of instruction glean; 
The rural haunts of gushing life, 
Alloyed by no discordant strife, 

Bespeak that all acknowledge now 
The record of the Almighty's vow. 
That seasons shall unceasing w^ing. 
And ever varied pleasures bring. 



But, most of all, I love to gaze 
Upon the sun's departing rays, 
That speak to me a different theme, 
Whilst gazing on the golden stream 



AND OTHER POEMS. S 

That trembles through the leafy spray, 

As trembles hope's expiring ray; 

I read with a delighted eye, 

That onward spreads an azure sky. 

Where mounts the sun in morning hour, 
Dispelling night with magic power; 
And onward still his beams arise, 
As still he sweeps the upward skies. 

As sinks the sun, so sinks the soul, 
Whilst striving for the promised goal 
That lies beyond the valley drear 
Which mortal life is prone to fear. 

As sweeps the sun his onward way. 

So spirit growth shall not delay; 

But strengthened from the Fountain source 

Pursue with might its upward course. 



SE VENTEEN-SE VEN T Y-SIX, 

Is there a book? 'tis open now 
Upon the mountains rugged brow; 
Within the woodlands silent shade; 
Beside the May Day's flowery glade, 

And he who seeks at even-tide, 
Shall not its lessons be denied; 
But gather there some gem refined; 
With which to grace immortal mind. 



IN MEMORIAM. 



Ten thousand bells are tolling forth 

A nation's deep felt woe; 
And from a million freemen's eyes, 

The tears unbidden flow. 

And why this fearful anguish now, 
Where joy sat late enthroned? 

And why the then victorious shout 
So changed and sadly toned? 

And why dons all a gladsome land 
Habiliments of grief? 

But yester streamed her banners high- 
Say, why her joy so brief? 
F 



90 SE VENTEEN^SE VEN7 Y-S7X, 

A^aln gloats Death o'er larger spoils 

Upon our battle plains; 
Or has the Southron surely forged 

For us the bondman's chains? 
The nation mourns her sovereign head 

In this triumphant hour; 
The Great, the Good, the Philanthrope 

Is stricken of his power? 
He who has been the helmsman bold, 

Through all our fiery strife; 
He who alone has been urbane 

When passions have been rife; 
He who has broke the bondman's chains, 

And bid th' oppressed go free; 
He who has stilled the raging storm 

And calmed the rolling sea; 
He who has gained a nation's love, 

And justice vouched to all, 
Is laid by foul assassin hands 

To day beneath the pall 



STREW FLOWERS, 



The May-time in beauty 

Has sivept o'er the earth, 
And flowers on the hiUside are springing; 

And over fair meadows, 

As in forests green, 
The birds are everywhere singing. 

As the spring brings dehghts, 

Us to gladden anew, 
Let us join in holy ovation, 

That sweet peace through the land 

Gives her rest to the heart, 
And strengthens the hope of the nation. 



92 S£ VENTEEX-SE VENTY-SIX, 

And amid all our joys, 

At her every return, 
We'll remember the brave of the battle; 

The loved who went forth, 

The bold patriot boys, 
7b die 'mid the strifes fearful rattle. 

There are father and son, 
There are husband and friend, 

And many a mess-mate and brother, 
Asleep neath the sod, 
Or the low tufted mound; 

In maiden heart many a lover. 

They fell on the field; 

They died in the camp, 
And in prison-pens, starved by strangers; 

But their offering was made. 

Our freedom was saved. 
And the war has passed, with its dangers. 



Ar^D O TITER POEMS, 93 

In the East and the West, 

In the North and the South, 
Then let us bring flowers to the altar, 

And strew them above 

The hallowed dead, 
Who in duty knew never a faltef. 

Yes, let us strew flowers 

Over father and son, 
Over dearest husband and brother; 

And pray that no act. 

Bringing discord and strife, 
Shall e'er cause the death of anothei'v 



A Rt:ML\ISCENXE. 



I met her at a festive hall, 

In social circle £[^av; 
And sure tlie beauty of her lips 

Out-vied the tlowers of May, 
And then the freshness of her cheeks 

Out-shone the rose's hue;--— 
Never, indeed, did I before 

Such matchless beauty view. 
I met her at her home ere long, 

Our friendship to advance; 
Her curls were all disheveled, 

And it needed but a glance, 
To show me what I dreamed so sweet. 

Was a coquettish feint: — 
Those lovely chaniis had faded all. 

As disappeared the paint» 



THE ONLY CURSK. 



There Is n blight that sweeps across the p^lth 

Of man, resiirtless as old ocean's might 

When lashing storms rouse him to furious wrath, 

And fleets, that stretch away, like forests sear, 

Of canvass shorn, are driven fiercely on 

Before the blast, to buffet with the waves 

A few short hours and then go down, as wrecks; 

Relentless as the dread simoon that knows 

Of mercy none for pilgrim caravan, 

But sweeps it down with pestilential breath, 



06 



sii r^A-ryr/TA -.7£ ncx? v-s/x, 



A stinj'jni'; cursr it (H>n\(\s, with \\\\\y;^ llial drixc 
'riuMU (Irt'p into tlu^ lMi}.;htrst llowrrs of iMith, 
I'jurnoinril as tlir\ iww 



Ncn- is it now 
Alone its sway siiprcMnr hrdrws \\\v v[\v{\\ 
With teat's that fltuv IVoni inothris' eyrs, o'er chi't"ks 
{){' in.iiilrns fair. Throliiji all the past hehoUl 
Its traek,hi{;h heaped w ith hleaehini*; hones, that, ciniU' 
They speak, wonUl tell .i darker tale ot" iliMtli 
And Woe than pc^stilenee^ — all other ills 
'That stalk ahioad to mar this iniac.e ef 
Inlinitude, l hiis feaHully oulained, 
IntiMnperanee j^cu^s forth at nioinini;", noon, 
Anil in the siltMit ni{;ht, to riot on 
Its devotiuvs, (h>stro\itu; talent, Notith; 
The l>ra\e, the fair; i^oiulness and hi^ar\' ai;o, 
And si>\\ini; dec^p the setnl t'oi' t\iture ('easts. 

Tt^U ns, yi^ men. wlu^se philantlnopie hearts 
lla\i^ led yt^n {o the h.annts o( saxaij^e nuMi; 
})Osidc the nii«;ht\' (i.nu;es tivle; where reip;n 



I lie Iliiuloo (Tods supreme; in oilier lands 
VVIktc kindles \\\\i\\ llic funeral pyre, ()r where 
A hiotlicr's liiiihs a hr< jihcr's ))alate jjleasc; 
jell IIS yt- elnoiiirlcj-s of lime, is there 
An<)lln'i- ("iirst,- lik(.' this? Ah, no! H(.'side 
il an- all olhrr plajnic; \\\\ stars at ii.s<! 
Of Mill: you look, and llicy arc {'oiic II is 
'J he ojily ("urse. 

'I'lien slum II, fathers, sons, 
A:; ye would shun a }.n-avc of infamy. 
ToiK h iiol llic }dass, else your slroiij; form ^.hall ri.'el 
As his doll) now, whom ye do loallx- to see. 
H<'wai-c, foj- Ihoiisands :,lioii}; as you have sipped 
To 1a^;le ats'iin IIk- diunkard's woe to woo. 



FRIENDSHIP. 



There is a bright meandering stream 

Within the vale of hfe, 
Whose placid breast ne'er ruffled is 

With the sharp throes of strife. 

There is a flower that by it blooms, 

And sheds its fragrance far, 
Which burning* passions cannot blight, 

Nor e'en its beauty mar. 

There ripens, too, a golden fruit 

Which envy cannot blast; 
Nor malice, and her withering train. 

Destroy in fell repast. 

And there was ne'er a heart so dead 

But deep within it lay, 
This stream, this flower, this sfolden fruit- 

Friendship's endearing sway. 



LINES TO MY WIF^'''''^ *''^ 

\i p.A 

-:/!•/;:? I 
* ■ IC) 

:.nA 
I sit beside you to-night, Mother, ''^ 

And think of the days that are fledt'/^ 
Three times five are the years, Mother, 
To-night, since we were wed. 

There's been to us much of joy, Mother, 
And something of oorrow and care; A. 

But then we've remembered the vow. Mother, 
Each others burdens to bear. 

Perchance a cloud may have passed, Mother/ 

Across the blue of our sky; 
The angry word evoked. Mother, 

Preceded the moistened eye. 



100 S£ VE.VTEEX-SE rE.VTY-SJX, 

Your hair is sprinkling with gray, Mother, 
Wrinkles are marking your brow; 

But love was never so strong, Mother, 
As tried affection now. 

I think of the tenderly loved, ^Mother, 

Of Will, and Vesta and Fred, 
And then of the halo of joy, Mother, 

This gift around us has shed. 

YouVe gently laid them to rest, IMother, 

With tender, womanly care; 
And to-morrow as to-day, ]\Iother, 

Again your affection the'U share. 
And the Father is giving us life, Mother, 

To see that their souls are fed 
From the stores of knowledge and love. Mother, 

His goodness around us has spread. 
And may it be ours and theirs. Mother, 

When life and its labors are o'er, 
To have a home with the blessed. Mother, 

Upon the * 'Evergreen Shore." 



GOD IS LOVE. 



That God is Love, that God is Love, 

Is written every where: 
Upon the spangled sky above; 

In water and in air; 
And on the far extended earth, 

'Mid forest, field and glen. 
Where nature gives, in bounteous birth, 

Her myriad tribes, and men. 



SE VENTEEN-SE VENTY-SIX, 

That God is Love, that God is love, 

The wheeUng spheres proclaim, 
As sing the morning stars above. 

From out their ether frame; 
And all the tiny hosts of night 

The samq'g-fand anthem roll. 
As Cynthia joins the choral flight. 

And gladness marks the whole. 

That God is Love,' tTiat God is Love, 

No less the waters swell. 
As of their dark and silent groves 

The glittering -sea nymphs tell. 
The river's silent, sweeping ,tide. 

The rainbow's, grand display. 
And dew-drops, by -the rose leaf dyed, 

The same great trutli portray. 

That -God is Love, that God is Love, 

The mountains echo round;-. 
And o'er the glen and forest grove 



AND OTHER POEMS, 103 

The gladsome notes rebound; 
Then all the tribes of earth and air 

The joyous theme pursue, 
And every strain and accent bear, 

In critical review. 

That God is Love, that God is Love, 

His image man displays; 
For here is God in light and love, 

In might, and mind, and ways: 
The best of all his works complete, 
His boundless goodness shows — 
That he around his works replete 
His full salvation throws, 



-.: :■■:'. jv: '.;r;i . , I 

-J cJ 
^- - -^ . - .:! [khr I 



THE BUCKEYE STATE FOR ME. 



The bright and sunny spots of earth 

Are where we choose our home, 
In city, country, lonely dell, 

Or where the surges moan. 
I love my own, my native state. 

So beautiful and free; 
I wish not for another home; — 

The Buckeye State for me. 



AND OTHER POEMS. 105 

O tell me not of foreign lands, 

Where all is blithe and gay, 
But give to me our own loved land, 

Bright, free America; 
And in that land I'll choose the place 

Where I most love to be. 
And it shall be a valley state, — 

The Buckeye State for me. 

Some praise the bright and sunny South, 

With rustling rice and cane; 
But I court not her Everglades, 

Nor her Atlantic plain; 

Give me the North, the snow clad North, 

With rolling inland sea, 
Where echoed ne'er a clanking chain;^ 
The Buckeye State for me. 

New England scenes are beautiful, 
And waken thoughts of yore, 



io6 S£ r£XT££X-SE VEXl \ 'SIX, 

They speak to us of Pilgrim sires 
Who early sought her shore, 

And on her hills and in her vales 
\'o\ved every homestead free, 

But still give me a Western home; — 
The Buckeye State for me. 

The West is praised with glowing tongue; 

Her rivers and her plains, 
Her forests and her darkened dells, 

Her bleak Rock ^Mountain chains, 
Have all conspired to make her grand, 

And grand her states shall be; 
But let those build new states who will: 

The Buckeye State for me. 



THE BARK OF DESTINY. 



The chilly blasts that lead the closing- year 
Swept wildly o'er the watery waste, then all 
Unbeaten by the tide of enterprise, 
And ^vafted far from Alba's shore a Bark 
Laded with hope, yet grief pervading all 
Those sturdy ones who looked a last farewell 
Upon the scenes where childhood flowered for youth. 
Youth ripened into manly strength that dared 
Repel the thralls of tyranny, and brave 
The dangers of an untried sea, to gain 



los S£ri:xT£/:x^s/. r£X7 r-s7,\\ 

Repose — the sacred rii>ht to ivorship God 

In all simpiicit}'. ]^a\s. followed days, 

Which dark nights inter\ened; weeks and loni^montlis 

Passed wearily awa\', amid wild storms 

That shrieked them to devour. With trusi, \ ct all 

Unshaken, low the\- bowed to him who holds 

The waters in his hands, and pra>-ed him to 

Delixer. Nor when, at length, the long sought shore 

Appeared, worn as the\' were with wear}* watch 

And toil, did they forget to render praise 

For favors past, and ask for future aid. 

\\'hen safely moored from dangers by the sea, 
They hasted to the wclconie shore, far, far, 
From wealth and ease; the altar of tlieir faith 
riiey reared amid wild scenes of winter, where 
The red man held liis sumnier orgies. Where 
Is now that freighted l^ark ? Long since undecked; 
And where is now that pilgrim band, who 'mid 
Wild scenes around tliem, worshipped to the moan 
Of winds, wild music from Jehovah's harp ? 
Go to the Eait amid New England's hills 



A,VD or II an poK.irs. 109 

And ask her men of classic mould, and you 
Will find their fathers sleep beneath the rock- 
Where first they worshiped God from tyranny 
Away; the sunny South, and ask her men 
Of greatest thrift and noblest enterprise, 
/\nd mem'ry quick will touch a latent power 
Which soon reveals that; mid the l-'lymouth hills 
Sleep their pro^^enitors; and to the West 
Where plies the sturdy pioneer his axe 
That makes the forest ring, or o'er some broad 
ICxpanse of nature's meadow land cheers well 
1 lis lagging team with that inspiring air 
Which finds an echo in our every heart—- 
Ask him, and learn that 'mid New England homes, 
Beneath the vine and fig tree which their hands 
Did plant, sleeps pilgrim pair from whom he claims 
Descent more honorable than titlers know. 

There rest ye ! rest in peace ye soul nerved sires, 
Ye mothers more than men, who braved the storms 
Of ocean, perils of a howling wild, 



1 1 SE VENTEEN-SE VEN T Y-SIX, 

For home where persecution might not raise 
Its ruthless hand 'tween heart and God. Ye dreamed 
Not, when, Hke trembhng bird, the Mayflower topped 
The howHng waves, such precious freight ye were; 
But we, in her and in her freighting rare, 
See well, from our far stand, her name, henceforth, 
To one fair land should be as that first craft 
To all the race— The Bark of Destiny. 



THE -BENIGHTED/' 



Our county^ 'tis of thee, 
Thou home of Liberty, 

Of thee our song; 
Here have our fathers vied, 
Here we their sons have tried, 
With all a freeman's pride, 

To shun the wrong. 

Old Ashtabula, thee, 
"Benighted" though thou be, 
Thy fame we cheer; 



S£ t'EXTEEX-SE VEX T Y-SIX, 

We love thy Gidding's name; 
And that of Wade the same; 
They cause no blush of shame; 
We claim them here. 

Here we have felled the trees, 
Here we have made the cheese, 

With our own hand; 
Here we've invoked the power, 
Which in each trying hour, 
Has proved an honored dower 

In all the land. 

Our Nation's God, to thee, 
Shall our petition be, 

From ev'ry side:- — 
"Let all our sons endure; 
Our daughters e'er be pure; 
Our own fair names ensure; 

Be thou our Quide." 



EARL KING. 



FROM THE GERMAN OF GOETHE. 



Who rideth so swift through the night wind wild ? 
It is a fond father with well loved child. 
He holds the boy now snug in his arms; 
He holds him firmly, he keeps him warm. 

"My son, why hid'st thou thy face from me, say?'' 
''Seest thou not, father, Earl-King in the way? 
Earl-King, with crown and far-reaching trail?" 
*'My son, "tis a cloud of mist in the vale." 

"My lovely child, come, go with me; 
Many beautiful games I'll play with thee; 
Many beautiful flowers are on the shore; 
My mother hath golden gifts in store." 



114 ^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^'^"^^ VEA'TY-SIX, 

*'My father, my father, and dost thou know 
The beautiful things that Earl-King can show?" 
'*Be quiet, I tell thee, be quiet, my boy, 
The rustlings of leaflets thy spirit annoy." 
"My beautiful boy, wilt thou go with me? 
My daughters e'en now are waiting for thee. 
My daughters shall lead thee, and nightly thee keep, 
And singing and dancing, shall rock thee to sleep." 
**My father, my father, and see'st thou not there, 
The daughters of EarhKing on the dark air?" 
"My son, my son, I see it is they — 
I see the limbs of the willows so gray." 
T love the, I'm pleased with thee, beautiful flower, 
And if thou'rt not willing, I'll exercise power." 
"My father, my father, he seizes me now — 
Earl-King has laid his cold hand on my brow." 
The father, afll-ighted, rides fast o'er the wild, 
And holds in his arms the shivering child; 
He reaches his home in pain, and oppressed; 
But the soul of the child is with Earl- King at rest. 



THE STILLY COMFORTER, 



There is a silent friend doth buoy us up 
Amid the stormy trials of life's sea, 
High rising o'er its currents, waves .and tides; 
When dark m.isfortunes stir athwart our course; 
When pallid cheeks and fell disease call roun 
Our couches weeping, anxious friends, and when 
We stir us in the busy walks of life. 
It seeks the rover of the pathless deep, 
In calm and gently swelling breeze; in storiil 
And raging Jiurricane; on mast, in shroud; 



1 16 SE VENTEEN-SE VENT Y-SIX, 

Along the deck and in the cabin full; 
A welcome guest it comes, speaking of loved 
Ones far away; of childhood's happy hours, 
And of the dearer scenes of home, where wife 
And prattling babes await his coming from 
The wrathful main. It finds the soldier on 
The tented field, who, 'mid the chances of 
Uncertain war, dream^s fame may deck him with 
Her laurel crown. It seeks the dreams of youth 
With promised length of days, and those of age 
With happy years in store. It soothes the hours 
Of her who views the wreck of wedded joys, 
Lost in the demon cup of woe, whisp'ring, 
'Thy peace m.ay yet return." Wherever man 
Is found, — in palace halls, 'neath cottage roofs, 
In noisome town, or in the quiet of 
A country home; 'mid life refined, or with 
The Arab in his nomad strife 
There's e'er the same mild, soul-inspiring Hope. 



THE INVALID'S MUSINGS, 



So long I've been within these walls 

Which have familiar grown, 
That sadly on my heart it falls 

That I am now unknown 
In the bright fields. 
The sunbeams through my lattice peep 

To cheer the livelong day; 
But the perfumes of summer sweep 

Upon the breeze away, 
Their sweets to yield. 



jiS SJ:: VEXTEEX-SE VEX T Y-S2X, 

The lightly tinselled Queen of May 

Again hath donned her veil, 
/Vnd all her gorgeous, bright array 

Is pictured on the gale 
Like seraph wings; 
go springs have been, and gone, and come 

Again, and in the bowers 
The birds have sung their lays; and some 

Have tried to cheer the hours 
\\'ith words they bring. 

But what are words, tho' words of cheer, 

To one who would be free; 
To one so robbed of all that's dear, 

That she can only see 
In life a sting? 
And yet there com.es 'mid all these days, 

To gladden lonely hours, 
A music that incites to praise, 

Like soft Aeolian harp 'mid flov/ers 
Of early spring. 



AND OTHER POEMS. 119 

Then why repine that I am here 

Distracted thus with pains ? 
Beyond the valley dark and drear 

I see those heavenly plains 
So pure and bright: 
It is a view witheld from those 

Who revel in their strength; 
There I shall gain a sweet repose. 

My spirit free, at length, 
From mortal blight. 



V, 



THE LAND OF DESTINY. 



There is a voice of pride that speaks from out 
The broad expanses of our wide domain; 
It echoes o'er our plains and mimic seas, 
Our dark-aisled forests and our sun-lit fields, 
Resounding from the lofty pinnacles, 
By Nature reared, in sight of which man's pomp, 
The massive dome and gorgeous monument, 
Sink into insignificance. 

It comes 
In classic tones from 'mid New England's hills. 
Bearing the accent of its Pilgrim birth; 
From North to South, where Alleghenies rise, 



AND OTHER POEMS. ] 

Where the first rays of morning gild the East, 
And from the mighty valley of the West, 
Where stretches forth the River God hi^ arms. 
It comes; it comes with doubly sounding tones- 
The classic and the sterner one of toil. 

The teeming city, and the bustling town, 
The quiet hamlet and the cotter's home. 
The wide-spread fields upon the Eastern shore, 
The opening dim, amid the Western wilds. 
The sweeping fleets upon the far-stretched tide. 
The gay-tipp'd steamers on our inland seas, 
The rivers, with their light nymphs dotted o'er, 
The hum of commerce and the rural din. 
The rattling car and lightning's slender track. 
The voice of knowledge in its varied forms. 
All, all possess a potent voice to him 
Who views our mighty present with our past. 

A seeming few short years ago, there waved 

A forest vast, in primal beauty rich. 

Above these lovely scenes, then all undreamed. 

H 



122 SEVENTEEX-SEVEN7 Y-SJX, 

Wild beasts roamed through its aisles; their only foe, 
Wild as themselves, whose voice is now unknown. 
Save where the sun's last rays light up the West, 
As lights his fading song his lonely -way 
To the ideal hunting grounds, where sport 
The sainted warriors of his legend tales. 
Now, what an empire! opulently great, 
Magnificent, in grandeur unsurpassed, 
The Titan of an hour ! out-stripping those 
Who count with pride their hoary centuries, 
Marred only by those ancient wrongs and sins 
Not yet time cured. 

From progress past we draw 
The presage of our future; 'from a world 
Laid out before us in the chronicles of Time; 
And reasoning thus, shall we not far out-vie 
The empires mouldering 'mid the wreck of years? 
Ah, yes; the Land of Destiny: the promised land. 
The Canaan of a hapless world; the home. 
The refuge and asylum of th' oppressed, 
Is this, our own beloved America. 



THE MYTHIC SEA, 



The Northman sat in his icy home, 

As fierce the blast howled by, 
And trimmed his lamp till the glowing flame 

Of artic oil, burned high. 

His wealth without was the fleeting deer, 

No rood of land had he: 
The Scandan hills of his native clime 

To all her sons were free. 

His wealth within was his sledgen chain, 

His wife, and heaps of fur. 
And skin-clad babes that he loved to see, 

In primal pastimes stir. 



1 24 S£: VENTEEN-SE VEN7 Y-SIX, 

Their childish mirth soon the roaring blast 

With hoarser accents staid, 
And then they asked that their father grave, 

Would tell where winds are made. 

''Away, away, o'er the hills," said he, 

"Beyond the northern sea. 
An ocean rolls, that has ever been 

From icy fetters free. 

''A long, long night o'er its waters hangs, 

And then a half-year's day 
When whales, and seals, and birds of the south 

Upon its bosom play. 

* 'There winds are made, as my fathers found; 

The kraken gives them birth, 
And they are drawn by the sun away, 

To distant parts of the earth; 

'But not like man growing warm in wrath. 
When forced his home to flee; 



AISfD OTHER POEMS. 125 

They ai'e chilled with grief at their flight away 
From ocean mild and free." 

And men more wise as they heard the tale> 

The Northman laughed to scorn; 
Their knowledge taught 'tis a region drear, 

Where chilling blasts are born. 

And thus 'twas said, as the thought went round, 

''A pleasant thing 'twill be, 
To name the realm, that 'my fathers found' 

The Northman's Mythic Sea." 

An age rolled by, ages one, two, three — > 

A thousand years had fled, 
And he who told, and the ones who laughed 

Of Mythic Sea, were dead. 

As time sped on in its rapid flight 

An undreamed world was found; 
Then men believed, tho' with some doubt, 

That this great earth is round. 



126 SE VENTEEN-SE VEN T V-S/X, 

And books increased, as the wise man said, 
And men for new things sought, — 

For glittering mines that should make them rich, 
For precious gems Of thought* 

And sea and land were explored afar, 

By men in quest of these, 
Till news was brought by a daring one 

That from the ice bound seas, 

He northward looked on an ocean vast, 

Where birds from tropics green, 
And whales and seal and monsters new 

Rejoiced in sports unseen. 

And thus the sea that "my fathers found" 

No more has mythic name, 
But gives a place to that of Kane 

Hig^h on the scroll of fame. 



CHINA WEDDING SONG. 



The years are twenty to-night, Mother, 
Since at the altar we stood, 

And vowed to be faithful and true. Mother, 
As any ''twain" ever should. [Mother, 

Those years have brought many a change, 
Changes in you and in me; 

Changes in country and home, Mother- 
Changes in all that w^e see» 

The parson that tied the knot^ Mother, 
His wife that witnessed the vow. 

Our parents and many a friend. Mother, 
Are silently sleeping now. 



128 SE VEKTEEN-SE VEK T Y-SIX, 

The friends around us to-night, Mother, 

Were then to us all unknown; 
And many an unsought gift, Mother, 

The Father around us has strown. 

Our Will is taller than I, Mother, 

Soon will be Vesta than you; 
Hip pockets you've fitted to Fred, Mother, 

A pair of suspenders, too. 
Now these loved ones more than all, Mother, 

Speak most of the fleeting days, 
And call from the depths of heart, Mother, 

Thoughts of unceasing praise. 

Though marks of labor and care. Mother, 

Are gathering over the brow, 
Let us say of each day as it comes, Mother, 

'The happiest time is now;" 
And whether we silver wed. Mother, 

Or comes our golden day, 
Ee we ready for the hour, Mother, 

When the Master calls away. 



JOHN BROWN'S RAID. 



John Brown was a young village bloody 

Who Hved in a village style; 
That is, he never earned his bread, 

But did the hours beguile 

In lounging at the village store, 

Engaged in loafing schemes; 
Whiffing Havanas in saloons. 

Or sipping at ice-creams. 

This "same John Brown once courting went 

One pleasant afternoon, 
Or pleasant evening, if you please: 

The other hour's too soon. 



130 .SV; l'£.VT££X-SE J'EXTV-S/X, 

lie hied to see Miss Nettle Jones, 
Just turned of sweet sixteen, 

Not doubting but a flame o{ love 
'Tween (hem must early gleam. 



Now Nettie was a gladsome girl. 

A sprightly lass was she, 
Whose gleeful, witching, roguish laugh, 

Was ever wild and free. 



She romped the fields, she roamed the woods, 

She scaled the hill tops o'er; 
She wove boquets from wild-wood flowers. 

Beside her cottage door; 

She moved about her household cares 

With spirits light and ga\-. 
Nor wished in idle listlessness 

To while the hours awa\-. 



AND OTHER POEMS. [131 

In fine she was as good a lass 

As people often see; 
And just the one to jilt a beau, 

If loafing one were he. 



So when young Brown accosted her 
With "Howd'ye do, Miss Jones?" 

''Quite well, I thank you; how's yourself?" 
Rang back in mimic tones. 

"I've called this pleasant eve, Miss Nett, 
To see if you would please" — 

''Ah! yes, I understand," said she, 
"To show you father's cheese." 

"With your permission, dear Miss Jones, 

I should be glad to say" — 
"That, as 'tis late, you'd better call 

Upon another day." 



13a SE VENTEEN-^SE VEI^TY-SIX, 

A moment clashed the raider stood, 

Then dared again to speak; 
"I've come, Miss Jones, to chat with you; 

Your company I seek." 

"Ah! yes, sir, now I comprehend, 

Vour mother wants a maid, 
But as I've never been from home, 

I should not suit, I'm 'fraid." 

The nonplussed wight now twirled his cane. 
Then stroked his beardless chin; 

With stammering tongue and down cast eye. 
Then did again begin. 

"I've called upon that errand, IMiss, 
Which young men sometimes make; 

The dearest secret of my heart 
To you I fain would break." 

"Why, little Brown, how strange you talk; 
You surely don't mean so; 



AND OTHER POEMS. 133 

Why, I am now but just sixteen — 
Too young to have a beau. 

"The dearest secret of your heart 

To me would you confess? 
I really should not care to hear 

About the silly mess. 

'T think you'd not be hear to-night, 

You foppish little sprout, 
If your dear mother only knew 

Her darling John is out." 

With rapid step young Johnny bid 

The cottage home good-bye; 
Nor cared he soon again to meet 

The witching Nettie's eye. 



THE SPRING! THE SPRING! 



A mcrr}' shout is ringing out 

From Nature wild and clear, 
Rejoicing loud as floes the cloud, 

Of winter cold and drear. 

The brooks proclaim aloud the name 

Of ever smiling Spring 
Whilst singing birds, with joyous words. 

Confirming echoes ring. 

The fresh'ning fields a pleasure yield, 

Donning their vernal hues; 
Whilst humming bees and budding trees, 

Herald the joyous news. 

The gentle flower with m}'stic power. 

Upon its fragrant wing, 
Meekly proclaims that beauty reigns 

Throughout the realms o{ spring. 



DESTRUCTION OF THE JOVFUL 



The dram-seller came down like a demon of woe, 
And the sound of his flasks bespoke regions below; 
And the fruits of his coming were ruin and pain, 
For he scattered destruction as clouds do the rain. 

Like the tares that spring up ere the harvest is grown 
That imp with his bottles was everywhere known; 
Like the tares that are burned when the harvest is 

reap'd 
Was he once for a season into infamy swept. 



;i36 SE VENT£EX^SE VEX T Y-SJX, 

For the spirit of water burned forth In its might, 
And deep from his cellars, whilst bright was the light, 
They rolled up the barrels, and knocked out the heads; 
A low gurgle-gurgle, and the contents had fled. 

And there stands the maker with crest fallen brow. 
For the still consumes not the toil of the plow; 
And he beats on his breast In agony sore, 
As millions proclaim "you will triumph no more." 

And there stands the vender with ire in his eyes, 
As his soul perjured gain away from him flies; 
For his bar is now empty, decanters unshown, 
His toddies unworshipped; his julips unknown. 

And the dealers in liquors are loud in their wail, 
Now their traffic's uncalled for on hill or in vale; 
For the cause of the bottle seeks vainly for aid. 
Whilst the women press boldly their praying crusade. 



MEMORIAL POEM. 



To day we o'er our loved ones stand, 
As do the millions of the land, 
And in our minds their forms arise; 
Their beaming faces greet our eyes 

As in the days of other years: 
We roam with them the fields again. 
We entertain their schemes as men; 
They clamber o'er our knees as boys, 
They mete to us a father's joys, — 

Their very tones are in our ears. 



138 SE VENTEEN-SE VEN T V^SJX, 

'Tis but a moment thus it seems,— 
These sodded mounds dispel our dreams; 
And then arises strife of words, 
That through the land for years was heard, 

O'er wrongs that only time can cure; 
The call to arms, the crimsoned strife, 
That savor of a nation's life; 
The fond good-bys in sun-lit homes, 
Within our hearts unwritten tomes, 

That sought our hearts to reassure; 

The suit of blue, opposing grey, 
The furloughed visit from the fray; 
The letters speaking of wild scenes. 
Portraying the strategic means 

Which soldiers use, which soldiers dare; 
The missive writ by stranger hands. 
The group that then in mourning stands 
O'er pallid form — form close encased 
Because of comeliness effaced 

By battle wound or prison fare. 



AND OTHER POEMS. 139 

To day we come, with heart and hand, 
To honor this immortal band; 
To say again "though dead they're ours;" 
To deck their beds with choicest flowers — - 

The laurel cross, the myrtle crown. 
Now as we with them thus commune, 
May we again our hearts attune 
To love of country, human kind. 
No matter what the race we find, 

And vow on every wrong to frown. 

Remembered, too, be those who gave 
The heritage these fell to save: 
Strew flowers for him whose ashes sleep 
Where the Potomac's waters sweep, = — 

For all his comrades high and low; 
For those who stayed the Briton's pride 
To lord it o'er the ocean's tide; 
For those who on our borders wild 
Have striven with the forest child, 

Or, nam.eless, sleep in Mexico. 



I40 SE VENTEENSE VEN 7 F-5/X, 

As thus around, our gifts we strew, 
May we this sacred rite review: 
God early blessed the earth with flowers, — 
Without them Eden had no bowers; 

They graced the place of Abel's rest. 
Since, conquerors proud have chaplets worn, 
Intensest toils for wreaths been borne; 
Have mothers twined the evergreen, 
With fairest flowers the space between, 

And thus their living dead have dressed. 

Thus, in the Orient to-day 

As in the past, these feelin»^s play; 

And Greece and Rome still garland flowers, 

Then why should not this land of ours. 

With higher, holier feelings graced? 
Brave Comrades, now we bid you sleep 
W^hilst these Memorials we keep; 
And may that Hand that gives the flowers 
Assure to all the peaceful bowers 

Where nought of strife or war is traced. 



HER JOHN HAS TAKEN A MURPHY. 



A woman sits in a tidy dress, 

A brand-new dress, I ween; 

It is the first of the kind, know ye, 

She in many a day has seen: 

Her John has taken a Murphy. 

Her bounding boy of twelve years old. 
Has an equal suit of jeans, 
That shields his limbs from the piercing cold, 
And full to her that suit proclaims 
Her John has taken a Murphy* 



143 SE VEiVTEEN'-SE VEiVTY-SIX, 

And little Mary is neatly clad, 
Her face is bright, her heart is glad; 
'Tis all the work of regenerate dad; 
The woman laughs, she cannot be sad: 
Her John has taken a Murphy. 

Her pantry now has flour in store; 
And she holds the ''checks" for a barrel more; 
She's pork, potatoes, a found of steak, 
And she says no more her heart will break: 
Her John has taken a Murphy. 

When the morning comes and breakfast's o'er. 
That household join in a iieiv-tivies chore: 
rhey read in **The Book" of an evergreen shore. 
Then the husband asks, safe passage o'er,— 
For John has taken a Murphy. 



FHE GAY YOUNG TRAMP, 

A DOMESTIC ID(0L)yL. 



A boy thefe came some years ago 

A knocking at our door; 
His form was trim from top to toe, 

Not a sign of clothes he wore; 
He winked his eye in merry glee, 

For a gay Young Tramp was he* 

VVe gave him clothes, a tiny suit, 

A diet mostly milk; 
We thought he was a genius kute, 

Or something of that ilk; 
We laughed to hear him shout *'a-kee,'- 

For a gay Young Tramp was he. 



T44 S£ VEiVTHEK^SE VEMT F-^/A^, 

He slept by day, by night he cried, 

Just as we most have done; 
It mattered not; what e'er he tried, 

Was a bit of earnest fun; 
In memory still his freaks we see, 

Such a ^ay Young Tramp was he. 

« 

Thro' all these years^ around he's staid 

A kind of household pet; 
He never seems the least afraid, 

That we shall his wants forget; 
He knows, you see, the way 'twill be, 

For a gay Young Tramp is he. 

We have no doubt but when we're old 

He will us well repay, 
For now "he's worth his weight in gold"- 

A * 'Bonanza" for that day; 
O don't you see, just how 'twill be? 

Such a Gay Young Tramp is he. 



BLUE GLASS. 



When Pleasanton from the service withdrew, 

He gave to his aims a most radical cue; 

For no more at arms would ever he pass, 

But center his soul alone upon Glass: 

Not • 'bottle" or ''flint," nor yet "window pane,'^ 

Nor "annealed" or "cut," his tho'ts could retain; 

Henceforth to the arts of peace ever true, 

We fmd him enamored of right "Royal Blue." 

Aside from its highly aesthetic powers, 

Around us he finds choicest blessings it showers;- 



t46 SE VEh'TEEK-^SE VEX 7 V-SIX, 

So full and so perfect, so very complete, 
Does it all our poor human ailments meet, 
That all doctors now "to sticks" straight may go, 
We after them pills and plasters may throw. 
The facts that follow most loudly proclaim, 
In spite of honored EsCulapian fame: 

A man whose eyes were liiost sadly askew, 
Completely was cured by one bath of Blue; 
His wife, whose tongue in the middle was hun^-, 
After a light bath> one end only swung; 
A grumbler, subjected to actinic rays. 
Soon found he could speak a few words of praise; 
And a deacon who always was scowling at fun, 
Came forth from a bath reciting a pun. 

A plate of Blue Glass was placed o'er a town, 
And this is the way the blessings came down: 
A spinner of street yarn was cured in a trice; 
A horse^jockey learned to be honest in price; 



A!^D OTHER POEMS. 147 

A bachelor's heart was melted to love, 
And a tart maiden lady cooed like a dove; 
Some christians that scarce to each other would nod, 
Were brought to acknowledge one father in God; 

Those house-holds in which the children bore rule, 
So changed that parents sent children to school; 
A couple who 'd wrangled and sued for divorce, 
Came squarely around to a most loving course; 
The aches and the pains which good people ply, 
Were out of that town at once forced to fly, 
And now not a person is there ''going to grass, '^ 
For industry dwells in the rays of Blue Glass. 



ANOTHER REMINISCENCE. 



I met .him first in daytime; 

He took me by the hand 
And smiled upon me gravely, 

Though looking Very bland. 
As he kindly bowed to greet me, 

I saw locks of auburn mold, 
And wondered how 't could be so 

With one who was so old. 
I called him up at midnight, 

That good old friend of yore, 
And when he came to meet me, 

With candle, at the door, 
His phiz was all environed 

In night-cap border big; 
Then I knew those locks of auburn 

Were nothing but a — wig. 



A CENTENNIAL REMINISCENCE. 



Memorial Hall gave Obed joy, 

He's glad it is a fixture, 
For there he gazed like any boy, 

On Yankee Doodle's picture. 

There Pat came up, his face a-grin, 
Said he, *'Arrah, be dad, sir, 

That is a foine ould gintlemin, 
And gay as ony lad, sir." 

' 'Mine Herr, "said Hans, ''zergoot,zergoot, 
Dat Yankee Tootle yankee; 



J 50 SE VEN TEEN- SE VEN T Y- SIX, 

Der P'aterlant zo petter toot,- 
Mit lager peer, Ish dankee. 

"Nin-chang che-wang chu-fu che-wheen ?" 
Said John, just then, a-cue-ing: 
This Obed understood to mean, 
''What's Yankee Doodle dewing!" 

''Memo-," "be dad," "chu fu," "zer goot, 
"He's glad,'^ "che wheen" "a-cue-ing;"' 
Said Obed, "chang;" said Pat, "er toot,'' 
Said Hans, "Vat's Tootle tuing?"' 

Said John, "de beer;" said Hans, "Arrah;" 
Said Pat, "che-whang foo-chooing;" 
Said all, "John Bull, be dad, ya, ya, 
Js Yankee Doocle doing." 



NOTES. 



Centennial Poem. — Written for, and read at, th^i 
Celebration at Jefferson, Ohio, July 4th, 1876. 

Re-nnion Poem, — Read at the first Re.union of the 
171st Regiment, O. N. G., Warren, Ohio, June 
loth, 1876. 

/// Memojiam. — Written at the hour of President 
Lincoln's funeral. 

The Benighted. — In a political speech delivered many 
years ago. Gov. Wood referred to some question of 
that day and said, "from benighted Ashtabula to 
enlicrhtened Hamilton." Since then, Ashtabula 
County has always been termed "benighted." 



i 5 2 SE VEN TEEN- SE VEN T V- S/X, 

InvalicVs Ahisiiigs. — Written in 1851, for a younr:^ 
lady who had been confined to her room for several 
years by an acute disease. 

Remove the Pen. — These lines, were suggested by 
reading an account of the removal of the old Ar- 
teburn Slave- Pen, Louisville, Ky. , in the spring of 
1876. In this Pen were enacted some of the scenes 
depicted in ''Uncle Tom's Cabin." 

Earl-King. — A god of the old German Mythology. 
From Goethe. 

Mythic Sea. — Kraken, a fabulous sea monster. 

St?ezu Flozvers. — Sung by the choir, at Orwell, Dec- 
oration Day, 1877. 

Meino}ial Poem. — Read at Orwell, May 30th, 1877. 





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